• British schoolteacher, 30, found guilty of child abduction for running away to France with pupil, 15
    39 replies, posted
[url]http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-22991868[/url] [quote]Teacher Jeremy Forrest has been found guilty of abducting a schoolgirl. The prosecution said Forrest, 30, of Petts Wood, south-east London, had groomed the pupil at Bishop Bell CofE School in Eastbourne where he taught. Lewes Crown Court heard the pair went to France when it became likely their relationship would be exposed. The girl was 15 years old at the time. Forrest chose not to give evidence in his defence. He was convicted by the jury following an eight-day trial. He is due to be sentenced later this afternoon. The teacher was labelled a "paedophile" by the prosecution, who said he "groomed" the vulnerable teenager and his actions were a gross breach of trust.[/quote] I'm quite frankly disgusted by this verdict. It's quite obvious what has happened here. Why should 'the law' have the right to ruin someone's life for what was, at the end of the day, a perfectly innocent relationship? [highlight]READ THE ARTICLE FULLY BEFORE POSTING YOUR OPINION[/highlight]
I'd like to hear the girl's side to the story.
[quote]Richard Barton, prosecuting, said Forrest's actions were an abuse of trust and [B]he had not acted with the consent of the girl's parents.[/B][/quote] Of course he didn't. What 15 year old girl is going to tell their parents "Hey, I'm going to have sex with this person" no matter who it is? Even then, the parents will probably not even give consent.
[quote]The trial has heard the pupil had just turned 15 when [B]she started a sexual relationship with Forrest after developing a crush on him.[/B][/quote] [quote]The girl said to the defendant: "I'm sorry" as he was taken to the cells.[/quote]
The girl went with him willingly, hardly abduction. It's definitely wrong since she's a minor but it was her own choice.
[QUOTE=Kirrimir;41111114]The girl went with him willingly, hardly abduction. It's definitely wrong since she's a minor but it was her own choice.[/QUOTE] This appears to be a situation where the law did nothing but harm. That kind of thing should never happen.
[QUOTE=Kirrimir;41111114]The girl went with him willingly, hardly abduction. It's definitely wrong since she's a minor but it was her own choice.[/QUOTE] Plus she is less than a year away from being legal.
[QUOTE=Kirrimir;41111114]The girl went with him willingly, hardly abduction. It's definitely wrong since she's a minor but it was her own choice.[/QUOTE] Wrong in the law's eyes, yes, but morally? Only a few months later and this would have been perfectly fine and the only thing different would have been a number.
[QUOTE=Scot;41111137]Plus she is less than a year away from being legal.[/QUOTE] 3 years from being teacher-legal
[QUOTE=sambooo;41111195]3 years from being teacher-legal[/QUOTE] If she left the school when she was 16, it would have been legal.
It's not abduction. It may not be legal, but it's not abduction.
[QUOTE=Bengley;41111219]If she left the school when she was 16, it would have been legal.[/QUOTE] You finish education at 18 now
[QUOTE=icemaz;41111404]You finish education at 18 now[/QUOTE] Not school, you have to be in education of some kind which can mean college, or an apprenticeship. [quote=https://www.gov.uk/know-when-you-can-leave-school]You can leave school at the end of June 2013 if you turn (or have already turned) 16 in August 2013.[/quote] Which means she could have left at 16 anyway.
[QUOTE=FalconKrunch;41111071]Of course he didn't. What 15 year old girl is going to tell their parents "Hey, I'm going to have sex with this person" no matter who it is? Even then, the parents will probably not even give consent.[/QUOTE] Well actually, in court she said that she told her mom before she ran away to France with him [editline]edit[/editline] It's also disgusting that this man is labelled the same as the child sex gangs [editline]edit[/editline] Also interesting to see what sentence he will receive considering the Stuart Hall case recently
[QUOTE=Bengley;41111219]If she left the school when she was 16, it would have been legal.[/QUOTE] yeah dropping out of school for your teenage crush. Thats TOTALLY worth it.
[QUOTE=Trunk Monkay;41112606]yeah dropping out of school for your teenage crush. Thats TOTALLY worth it.[/QUOTE] If she left [B]the[/B] school when she was 16, it would have been legal. Where in that statement did I say 'drop out of school'?
CPS, drops cases when they are most needed and prosecutes against people are not a risk to society at all. [editline]20th June 2013[/editline] Seriously all sense aside, the time and money wasted on this case is deplorable.
[url]http://facepunch.com/showthread.php?t=1213656[/url] made a thread when it happened a few months ago girl that is involved dads one of my teachers at my school. got lots of friends that go to Bishop Bell and apparently teachers knew about a lot of this before it happened...
[QUOTE=Bengley;41112761]If she left [B]the[/B] school when she was 16, it would have been legal. Where in that statement did I say 'drop out of school'?[/QUOTE]The seems irrelevant since the relationship started when she was 14
[QUOTE=Trunk Monkay;41112606]yeah dropping out of school for your teenage crush. Thats TOTALLY worth it.[/QUOTE] You're forgetting that the entire world doesn't use the US's education system.
[QUOTE=Mingebox;41112953]The seems irrelevant since the relationship started when she was 14[/QUOTE] [quote]The trial has heard the pupil had just turned 15 when she started a sexual relationship with Forrest after developing a crush on him.[/quote]
I can see why she would have a crush on him. He's very attractive.
[QUOTE=Bengley;41113104][/QUOTE] A linked timeline on the article said the relationship started when she was 14. Asking for a mulligan seems like a bit of a stretch at this point.
[QUOTE=Mingebox;41113440]A linked timeline on the article said the relationship started when she was 14. Asking for a mulligan seems like a bit of a stretch at this point.[/QUOTE] You can't help who you love. If you love them, so be it. Yeah, they shouldn't have had sex, but who is to tell them they can't have an emotional attachment with eachother? This isn't anything to do with child protection, the girl wanted a relationship and she's had it all torn away from her.
I love how BBC just throws in subjective words all the time, nice reporting, no doubt [editline]21st June 2013[/editline] The fact that she had no say in this whatsoever pisses me off
[QUOTE=Bengley;41118448]You can't help who you love. If you love them, so be it. Yeah, they shouldn't have had sex, but who is to tell them they can't have an emotional attachment with eachother? This isn't anything to do with child protection, the girl wanted a relationship and she's had it all torn away from her.[/QUOTE] So where do you draw the line? Would it have still been okay if they had sex at 14? Or 13? Whatever it is, I'm sure there's someone who thinks it's younger than you do. What makes your idea of when someone is old enough to actually consent any less arbitrary than the UK government's?
[QUOTE=*Freezorg*;41119279]I love how BBC just throws in subjective words all the time, nice reporting, no doubt [editline]21st June 2013[/editline] The fact that she had no say in this whatsoever pisses me off[/QUOTE] The BBC's been in a lot of trouble lately because of paedophiles within its ranks, and coverups of said paedophiles, so it's probably trying to distance itself as much as possible from anything even remotely to do with adult-child relationships.
[QUOTE=Mingebox;41119580]So where do you draw the line? Would it have still been okay if they had sex at 14? Or 13? Whatever it is, I'm sure there's someone who thinks it's younger than you do. What makes your idea of when someone is old enough to actually consent any less arbitrary than the UK government's?[/QUOTE] This crime is victimless. Crimes with a victim should be punished severely.
[QUOTE=Jamsponge;41124663]The BBC's been in a lot of trouble lately because of paedophiles within its ranks, and coverups of said paedophiles, so it's probably trying to distance itself as much as possible from anything even remotely to do with adult-child relationships.[/QUOTE] Whenever I see or hear a news piece use a loaded word like "Evil" I immediately shrug off the entire thing. People shouldn't be told how to feel about the news, by the news. [editline]21st June 2013[/editline] In regards to this story, it's really hard to know where to stand on it. They shouldn't have had sex, because the law forbids it, but the law forbids it to prevent harm coming to peoples that are underage, and if she instigated it, she wanted it to happen. They also shouldn't have been in a relationship, because it jeopardises their relationship as student and teacher. Urgh. I wouldn't have charged him with kidnapping, though I would certainly have had him done for just about everything else, much as it pains me to say it.
15 years old is actually legal in Poland.
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